Yellow Ribbon Day at Saratoga-Wilton Elks Club honors soldiers, veteransPublished April 20, 2013

Members of the Navy Operational Support Center in Schenectady proceeded with the Post the Colors as they entered the room at the Saratoga-Wilton Elks. The gathering was for the Yellow Ribbon Day, held every year in Saratoga.Photo Erica Miller 4/12/13 news_RibbonDay2_Sat

Patrol Guard Joe Spotnick, from Greenwich, held his glad with pride surrounded by fellow guards as they entered the room at the Saratoga-Wilton Elks. The gathering was for the Yellow Ribbon Day, held every year in Saratoga.Photo Erica Miller 4/12/13 news_RibbonDay1_Sat

WILTON -- Nearly 200 people observed Yellow Ribbon Day on April 12 to honor America's soldiers and veterans at the Saratoga-Wilton Elks Club.

The observance, started by Carol Hotaling of Rexford, is held each year near the date -- April 9, 2004 -- when the first U.S. prisoner, Matt Maupin of Ohio, was taken captive in Iraq.

New York is the only state that has officially recognized the day legislatively, although proposals are pending in Congress to give it national recognition, too.

"Nobody can be forgotten -- nobody -- who served our country," said Hotaling, known widely as the Yellow Ribbon Lady. "When you see these yellow ribbons, you have to remember our troops. That's the only reason I put them out."

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She's made countless yellow ribbons and decorations for patriotic events and ceremonies since the Gulf War, more than 20 years ago.

However, Friday's event, also featured plenty of red, white and blue. All four service branches were represented along with the Patriot Guard Riders, American Legion and Blue Star Mothers.

Keynote speaker Navy Cmdr. Vincent Perry said the military has a considerable, but sometimes overlooked, presence in the Capital District.

Until GlobalFoundries in Malta was built, the Navy's nuclear training facility in West Milton was Saratoga County's largest employer, he said. An Army facility, the Watervliet Arsenal, and Stratton Air National Guard Base in Schenectady, are also prominent, he said.

Perry commands the Naval Operational Support Center in Glenville.

In December 2011, when the last 55,000 U.S. troops were leaving Iraq, he was sent there to help with the transition as an adviser to Iraqi naval officials.

"We left when it was about the right time," Perry said. "The Iraqi people were ready to take care of themselves. I have a lot of faith in the Iraqi people."

Paraphrasing early 20th century British officer T. E. Lawrence -- "Lawrence of Arabia" -- Perry said, "It's better to let the Arabs do things imperfectly than for us to do things perfectly for them.

"Their version of democracy is going to be real different from what our version of democracy is," he said. "We have to accept that."

The U.S. and Iraq have signed a three-year contract for the U.S. Navy to maintain the Iraqi fleet. "They're trying to partner with us," Perry said. "They consider the American Fifth Fleet an extension of their navy. We have an ally with the current government."

Ceremonies Friday included a tribute to all prisoners of war, with a symbolic empty table setting.

"The table is small, symbolizing the frailty of one prisoner alone against their oppressor," said Dick Berg, of the Hudson Falls American Legion color guard.

A white table cloth is for the soldier's purity of purpose, a red rose for the blood they've shed, a lemon for the POW's bitter fate, salt for the volunteers who work on their behalf, an inverted glass indicates they can't make a toast, an empty chair means they're absent and a candle is for hope, to show the way home.

"The flag represents the many, many that never returned and have paid the supreme sacrifice to ensure our freedom," Berg said. "Let us never forget their sacrifice."